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PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 25, 1992 - 9 Dr. Goel of the Gandhi Eye Hospital demonstrates one of th e three bi-polar cautery instruments donated by the Rotary Club of Port Perry. Local Rotary Club donates equipment to India hospital The Rotary Club of Port Perry recently donated three very im- portant surgical instruments to the Gandhi Eye Hospital in Ali- garh India. One thousand dol- lars was raised in the communi- ty, and an additional $3,000 was obtained from the Canadi- an International Development Agency. The Port Perry Rotary Club then worked together with Operation Eyesight Universal to purchase three bi-polar caut- ery sets. These instruments are essential in conducting a varie- ty of eye operations including cataract surgery. Tom Balke, Manager of Oper- ation Eyesight's Central Cana- da office, spoke to the Port Perry Rotary Club this week. He had recently visited India and saw how the donated equip- ment was being used. "I saw all three of the units in action in Aligarh and also in a small clinic in Palirazapur," he said. "The eye hospital in Ali- garh has a children's ward occu- pied by 125 patients. Many of the children I visited with were able to have surgery thanks to the equipment provided by the Port Perry Club. Without the help of the Port Perry Club it would not have been possible to purchase these badly needed in- struments." He also stated "Over their lifetime, these instruments will be used to conduct sight restor- ing surgery on thousands of needy patients. These patients often cannot afford surgery let alone glasses." The Gandhi Eye Hospital is one of the two largest eye hospi- tals in Southeast Asia with roughly 900 beds. When the hospital is busy they are re- quired to squeeze 100 more beds in hallways and other spaces. The Gandhi Eye Hospi- tal co-operates closely with the local School of Medicine and the Rotary Club of Aligarh. Aligarh is located about 90 miles south of New Delhi and is the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Operation Eyesight Univer- sal sponsors some 75 projects in _ 16 countries and will perform its 1.25 millionth sight restor- ing operation early in 1992. In its 29-year history, Operation Eyesight has also treated close to 14 million people for a variety of potentially blinding eye dis- eases. The organization's prime al is to develop, encourage and fund sight restoration and blindness prevention programs in the Developing World. The work of Operation Eye- sight Universal is supported by a number of groups across Can- ada. The Canadian Internation- al Development Agency also rovides- OEU with more than $1.4 million each year in match- ing funds. Canadian Rotary Clubs are very active in sponsoring rural eye hospitals and one week ru- ral eye camps throughout the Third World. Rural eye camps are one of the primary means by which Operation Eyesight Uni- versal reaches patients located in smaller villages. Eighty-two per cent of the estimated 11 mil- lion blind in India live in small villages and find it difficult to travel to hospitals in the larger cities and towns. Operating more than 100 eye camps this year, Operation Eye- sight continues to restore pa- tients of all ages to sight. Chil- dren blinded by congenital cataracts since birth enter school and learn to read and write for the first time in their lives. Adults restored to sight, are able to return to the labor force and supplement their fam- ily"s income. Tom Balke commented that "the WHO {World Health Or- ganization) estimates that there are more than 30 million people in the Developing World suffering from cataracts, and an additional 500 million people suffering from trachoma. Look- ing toward the 1990s our prime objective is to prevent, where possible, hundreds of thou- sands of people from becoming permanently blind. We can achieve this via school screen- ing programs for Vitamin A blindness, regular screening for trachoma and glaucoma, our ongoing eye camp program, and by teaching families about pre- ventative health care." "Last month when I was in a small village in India I entered a shack where a nine-year-old girl lay on her bed. The ophthal- mologist lifted her head to show me that her eyes were perma- nently blinded with Xeropthal- mia (Vitamin A blindness). Ifit were in my power [ would make sure that no child within the reach of any of our projects would ever go blind this way. Having instruments like those provided by the Port Perry Club goes a long way toward provid- ing eye care to needy patients," he said. 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